Snapped a socket chisel handle

[Adam Cruea]

While making the shell for my Lie-Nielsen vise, in my enthusiasm to hog out the cavity for the gears and chains, I seemed to have snapped a socket chisel handle. :o

This really wouldn't be a big deal if I had a lathe or some sort of lathe-type device, but I do not. And to answer the crazy question I know someone will ask, no, I am not bolting a piece of wood to my drill press and using it as a vertical lathe. While amusing to me, I doubt the wife would find it too amusing. Especially since I had a chunk of 5/4 hickory get caught in said drill press and smack me while doing the Hokey-Pokey. :D

Anyway, has anyone shaped a round handle like this without a lathe, and if so, how did it turn out for you? Since I've got numerous board-feet of hickory left, I have the material to make the handle from. . .just no lathe to turn it. :rolleyes:

Any advice or personal experiences would also help me fix the handles on my #8 Bailey that took a spill off my bench due to the. . .erm. . .enthusiasm of hogging out a hickory vise shell. :o

[David Barnett]

Anyway, has anyone shaped a round handle like this without a lathe, and if so, how did it turn out for you? Since I've got numerous board-feet of hickory left, I have the material to make the handle from. . .just no lathe to turn it.

Often, and they turned out very well, indeed—not much to go awry. Long before I bought a lathe—a miniature metalworking lathe at that—I made round handles for chisels, socket and otherwise, awls, bow and turning saws, missing brace handles, and so on, with any combination of spokeshaves, a small drawknife, chisels, gouges, scrapers, rasps, files, sanding sticks, a jeweler's saw and occasionally, a small block plane to rough the wood to basic shape. Satisfying.

Dividers, calipers, a contour gauge or even a cardboard template makes the going easier when matching it to a set. A vise helps to get started but capturing the handle blank between two poppets which need be nothing more than two blocks of wood with screws through either end—the simplest lathe possible—is nice for rasping, too.

[Adam Cruea]

Oh cool. Not a fruitless effort to attempt. . .good to know. :)

[David Barnett]

Oh cool. Not a fruitless effort to attempt. . .good to know. :)

I actually whittled my first handle, a replacement for a very vintage turning saw, using the larger blade to cut a V to start the tenon, then straightening the shoulder with more perpendicular cuts, splitting the grain from the end like a chisel, contouring the shape for the hand with paring cuts, then using the smaller blade like a scraper to smooth the paring ridges and fit the tenon for the saw's mortise, all with a two-blade "peanut" pocket knife. Hand tooling at its best—at least for me. Then I discovered rasps. Nope, hardly fruitless.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Adam

You can make any shape you choose, you know. :)

OK, if it must be round, just rough it out with rasps and spokeshaves, then use a curved scraper to finish ...

You may get some ideas here: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/EntryforAustralianWoodReview2009.html

.. and here (nearer the end): http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Soyouwanttomakeadovetailchisel.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

[David Barnett]

I'd forgotten just how fetching your brace is.

If your handles don't inspire and encourage Adam, I don't know what could.

[Adam Cruea]

Hi Adam

You can make any shape you choose, you know. :)

OK, if it must be round, just rough it out with rasps and spokeshaves, then use a curved scraper to finish ...

You may get some ideas here: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/EntryforAustralianWoodReview2009.html

.. and here (nearer the end): http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Soyouwanttomakeadovetailchisel.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

I really need to learn to just start checking your site (which I have bookmarked to begin with anyway).

And that brace is absolutely gorgeous.

[Winton Applegate]

Adam,

I would like to trade an encouraging GO FOR IT !
and a photo or two of the rare and elusive non turned handle in the wild for further elaboration on the " Drill Press Incident ". The one with the 5/4 hickory, two rubber bands and a particle accelerator. Well the 5/4 hickory anyway; the two rubber bands and the particle accelerator may have been another accident entirely.
Soooo many accidents, soooo many details all crowded and jumbled into my weakened and aged mind . . .
. . . hmmmmmm
WHAT ?
Oh yes . . . the 5/4 hickory and the particle accelerator . . .
Do tell.

PS: the first photo is of a fairly quick get buy when I needed a wire wrapped file handle and my source was back ordered. May have been pre internet for me. The handle is on the file at the top of the photo.
The second photo is the handle on my frame saw for resawing. Shaped with bowsaw, draw knife, spoke shaves, files/rasp and scraper. That turned out surprisingly well and was fun to do.

All this time I have a lathe; I just wanted to see what I could do by hand.
Here is the opposite extreme. See the third photo. I turned this handle for my work bench tail vise from ebony and cut machine threads for the solid brass knob ends using my metal working lathe. That was fun too by the way. Now if I could only get paid for having fun in this shameful manner I would be doing alright.

PPS: the black rings are rubber baby buggy bumpers so the handle doesn't go BANG when I let go of it. Instead it goes phhhhhp.

[Derek Cohen]

Thanks David. Thanks Adam.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Adam Cruea]

The Drill Press Incident:

I was attempting to drill a 1/2" hole through about 8x12 inches of 5/4 hickory. I had been using Forstner bits, which run slow and are easy to handle. I forgot the Dewalt bits I have like to grab whatever is fed to them (I almost snapped my wrist using them to drill out a rivet on an old truck's ball joint). Anyway, forgetting this fun fact, I fired up the drill press at the low, low speed of 840 RPM (the Forstners run at 540 RPM). Please take note that I have no mentioned I clamped the piece down. This is important. As I lower the drill press, my dumb arse feels the hickory start to tug away from me; suddenly, the bit grabbed fully, plunged the quill down on its own, and grabbed the hickory out of my hand.

Me, being absolutely brilliant and thinking "it's only a 3/4HP motor, and this big red stop button in front of me is for mere mortals" tried to grab the spinning chunk of hickory (also of note. . .the hole was not in the center, so the drill press is now flopping from side-to-side because of the unbalanced chunk of death hickory spinning on the quill). I got my left hand on the hickory (no joke. . .I was actually able to grab it), but lost my grip as it pulled me toward the drill press. The Hickory Slab of Death did not like being touched and let me know by coming around full-speed and smacking me with a quick "1-2" to the chest and wrist. I had a bruise that was about 6 inches long on my chest/abdomen where I got slammed, and my wrist was so swollen I couldn't get my watch to clasp (my wife also noticed the large bruise running from my wrist to about mid-arm).

Oddly, it wasn't until after getting smacked around and shutting the drill press down that the expletives started. Something along the lines of "you cute little drill press. Thank you for reminding me I am a mere mortal." As my wife comes cautiously stepping into the basement, she stops, looks at the hickory still hanging off the drill press, my arm, my chest/abdomen (I had lifted my shirt up to make sure all internal organs were still internal), and upon seeing this gives me the "I'll pretend I didn't just see this because you would loose your power tool rights" look and heads back upstairs.

That is the "Drill Press Incident". I now talk kindly to my Delta drill press. I have been known to leave it small offerings from time to time also, like chunks of jatoba, hickory, oak, and steel. Thus far, it has been kind to me, though does growl occasionally to remind me to give it the monthly offering.

[george wilson]

The drill press is very often underestimated as a dangerous machine. I recall from the 50's,where a student in a high school shop class was drilling out an old fashioned battery cable in the drill press. He didn't have it clamped well enough,and the drill grabbed the lead. The cable spun around and hit him on the elbow. This doubled him over in pain. The cable then hit him in the head and killed him. This was not in any shop I went to.

I was drilling a sharp cornered block of brass,well clamped in a smooth jawed machinist's vise. The 3/8" drill grabbed the brass and sucked it right up out of the vise. It spun around and cut pretty deep into the first finger on my left hand just in front of the first knuckle. The finger had no feeling on its side for about 10 or more years. Fortunately,it didn't hurt my guitar playing,and eventually,over 10 years later,the feeling returned. I hadn't bothered to grind the cutting edges of the drill vertical,so it would scrape rather than cut,and not have the tendency to grab brass. I thought having the brass in a heavy vise was good enough. Brass is a slippery metal,and the smooth jaws didn't have sufficient grip.

So,be respectful of the drill press as you would respect your table saw or band saw. Be very careful of buffers,too. They can grab stuff and throw it violently.

[Steve Meliza]

LN sells new socket chisel handles if you're not dead set on making the replacement.

[Tony Shea]

I also have had some extremely dangerous moments at the drill press. It is amazing how fast a large diameter bit gets going even when your press is set up on its lowest speed. I tried drilling the through hole in my 5"x5" maple bench legs for the leg vise. I forget the exact size but for the first attempt the second the bit hit the hard maple my chuck came loose (morse taper) and went flying across the room into a sheet rock wall with a 2"+ bit chuck up. Amazingly I was not in the line of fire. I stupidly attempted a second time and this time the chuck stayed put but the 5"x5" chunk of maple leg did not. It started spinning around faster than the 2"+ bit and rocked the entire building. Again I was very lucky in that the maple leg just grazed my arm, and by graze I mean cut me open about a 3" gash that required stitches. But if the leg actually ended up connecting with me anywhere else I would have broken bones and at worse a broken skull. I will never underestimate the power of a drill press again. They can be more dangerous than any other machine in a shop.

I have made a few socket chisel handles by hand as I do not own a lathe either. I will try and get pics up. I do not like most examples of socket chisel handles made with hand tools as they often do not have a shoulder between the socket and the part of the handle you grip.

[glenn bradley]

Good. Now we've all figured out to ALWAYS clamp your work when using the drill press. Its always that "just one quick hole" that turns the DP into a finger-bashing helicopter ;-) After mostly hand shaping with a rasp I have used the DP to assist in getting a uniform shape. Since DP's don't generally care for sideways pressure I made a tenon on the blank that clamped in the chuck jaws and stabilized the opposite end on a pin set in a board clamped to the DP table. I didn't try to get the handle to a finished state but, a bit of motorized assist saved me some time.

[Jim Koepke]

My main reason for buying a lathe was to make handles for socket chisels often purchased without handles or with real crappy handles.

Put a WTB card up on the "community" bulletin board in the local grocery store and got a response.

For $100 I bought an old Craftsman (King Seely) and some tools.

It isn't the best lathe around, but I have been able to make a lot of handles and have had a lot of other fun making and selling honey dippers and other kitchen utensils.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

Hi Adam

You can make any shape you choose, you know. :)

OK, if it must be round, just rough it out with rasps and spokeshaves, then use a curved scraper to finish ...

You may get some ideas here: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/EntryforAustralianWoodReview2009.html

.. and here (nearer the end): http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Soyouwanttomakeadovetailchisel.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

Derek,

As is usually the case, your work is inspiring to those of us with lesser skills. I will have to reread and possibly even write down the steps of your handle making.

They have a similarity to some Buck Brothers chisel handles I have been trying to imitate:

265956

The darker ones are the originals.

I find these handles quite comfortable.

jtk

[Charlie Stanford]

While making the shell for my Lie-Nielsen vise, in my enthusiasm to hog out the cavity for the gears and chains, I seemed to have snapped a socket chisel handle. :o

This really wouldn't be a big deal if I had a lathe or some sort of lathe-type device, but I do not. And to answer the crazy question I know someone will ask, no, I am not bolting a piece of wood to my drill press and using it as a vertical lathe. While amusing to me, I doubt the wife would find it too amusing. Especially since I had a chunk of 5/4 hickory get caught in said drill press and smack me while doing the Hokey-Pokey. :D

Anyway, has anyone shaped a round handle like this without a lathe, and if so, how did it turn out for you? Since I've got numerous board-feet of hickory left, I have the material to make the handle from. . .just no lathe to turn it. :rolleyes:

Any advice or personal experiences would also help me fix the handles on my #8 Bailey that took a spill off my bench due to the. . .erm. . .enthusiasm of hogging out a hickory vise shell. :o

Don't laugh, these things easily handle stock for chisel handles:

https://www.google.com/search?q=drill+powered+lathe&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=16nZUc2YFeSMygHc74GwBw&ved=0CC0QsAQ&biw=1273&bih=683

[John Coloccia]

I have a standard procedure for making round and curved things from square and boring things. It's pretty simple, actually. First knock off the corners...now you have 8 flats. Knock off the remaining corners....now you have 16 flats. Keep going another 1 or two times and you have your basic shape. From the rough shape, it's pretty trivial to finish it off with rasps, files and sandpaper. What you don't want to do, IMHO, is start right off trying to make a round shape. Dollars to donuts you'll end up with some lopsided looking thing and it will drive you to drink trying to figure out exactly what to take off where to make it reasonable again.

That's just my opinion and how I do stuff like this.

[Winton Applegate]

Adam,

CAUTION : objects in photos may be arranged more for optimum viewing angle , and so prevent the need for even more photos, than for optimum work control ability. Consider all possible parameters of work flail-age and where to place "offerings" for optimum effect.

Oh man. Be careful.
My drill press likes offerings left on the table. Well more like bribes and payment in advance.
It is a perfectly equitable machine though and we get along. So far any way.
Just between you and I . . . I would go so far as to call it a friend but don't say anything to him. He will start to demand all sorts of special lighting and his own room and who knows what else. No, better to leave things just as they are. Better to leave him with some question in his mind that he could be sold off at anytime to make way for a fusion rector or such like. If I could only figure out where to put the fusion reactor . . . . . . . . .
anyway
Some of the offerings I like to leave . . .
. . . by the way I think your drill press is awfully good natured in deed to accept just any objects of jatoba, hickory, oak, and steel as offerings. Of course it could be that it is just insane and could go completely berserk at any moment. From my experience in these matters, which are considerable, I would be wary. Yes VERY wary in deed. Come to think it would not be too alarmist to build a chain link cage around this beast NOW while it is dormant.
DO IT NOW. For God's sake before it wakes again !


Mine will only accept those materials you mentioned in certain specifically sculpted and combined shapes see objects I have shown in the photos and then only at very specific combinations of space and time. There seems to be a direct correlation between the type of work, the size and shape of the work and the item of interest in its greedy little imagination.
Fortunately for me I was born with a sixth sense when it comes to reading the minds of machinery (some what shaped and enhanced by my obsessive reading of books from the library) ( haven't a hope in hell of reading the mind of a human or even GUESSING what they will do next. Makes any sort of actual interaction in the real world, as a posed to interaction through a filter such as this forum, tricky at best and often down right disastrous ) hence my near continuous existence in the hermitic state and . . .
anyway . . .
what were we talking about ? Oh, oh yes . . .
so, so far, I have guessed or listened right to the strange and bazar imaginings and nonvocal demands of the drill press.
By the way the incident with the two rubber bands, a liquid lunch and a particle accelerator resulted in the less than first class scientist Bowrick Wowbagger the third being transformed into an unnatural form of immortal from then on known as Bowrick Wowbagger The Infinitely Prolonged. (a state of being which I came to hate, I mean . . . HE . . . came to hate; longing only for death and oblivion) .
So
you see how lucky you have been so far. Be sure to keep rubber bands as far as possible from the drill press. Preferably in a lead lined box with a time determinant locking device.

See you in the continuum

PS: pay particular attention to the little black block like nob through bolted low on the table. That keeps things from spinning low across the surface plane of the drill press table. The clamp is also through bolted to the slots in the table and keeps things from being drawn vertically off the table/up the spiral of the bit.

PPS: the angle shaped iron thing (hence the name angle iron) supports tall objects and keeps them from overpowering the other two "offerings" by transferring the torque and leverage down to the other table level offerings to control as above.
You could substitute wood for the angle iron but harder to hold to the table in varying conditions. You can go to a structural metal supply yard, mom and pop, and have them saw off a hunk or two off a long length or maybe they have some as scrap.
I have an automatic shut off horizontal metal cutting bandsaw so can saw off stuff like this while I go work on something else. Sounds sophisticated but quite inexpensive actually.

PPPS: if nothing else give some thought to that chain link cage; I am sure your wife would appreciate it.

[Chris Griggs]

Don't laugh, these things easily handle stock for chisel handles:

https://www.google.com/search?q=drill+powered+lathe&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=16nZUc2YFeSMygHc74GwBw&ved=0CC0QsAQ&biw=1273&bih=683

Charlie, you have one of those? I was actually looking at that online the other day wondering if it would work for the little stuff I find myself wishing I had a way to turn....mostly small pulls, but also the occasional tool handle or knob. Might be a good solution for getting by until I have space and cash for "real" lathe.

What sorta turning tools do you use on it? Also, am I correct in assuming that ones corded drill needs to have a trigger lock (mine doesn't).

[Winton Applegate]

My personal favorite of the drills that Charles posted.
http://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/cheng-guo-mouth-factory-1
I'm not laughing. I'm not laughing.
I'm not . .
Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha
snicker, gasp, aaaha errrr ummm

[Winton Applegate]

Chris,

Trigger lock smigger lock.
Don't worry. You can even have locking variable speed if you have a variable speed drill.
Go to a bicycle shop, don't make fun of the guys with shaved legs (it just makes them beat hell out of you) and ask for a "Toe Strap".
Preferably a free be from the trash can. It will work just fine for the purpose. See photo.
These days mostly all you will find is the black nylon strap cloth versions.

Ask someone at the shop, preferably and old dude (like us) to show you how to thread the strap through the buckle. It may not be obvious and surprisingly few new guys at the bike shops even know how to thread it.

The one on my drill in the photo, purely for illustration, is a kind of grabby plastic. Keeps from slipping off.
The strap can be very slowly pulled through the buckle for infinitely variable speed adjustment yet quickly released all the way by a push on the metal lever on the buckle.
Yes that is a hammer drill. For more lathe/drill/lathe cutting pleasure you can put it on HAMMER. Or as I call it
EXTRA MOTHER.
PS: If you tend to get drawn into state fair games of chance and get rich quick schemes you may want to disregard the hammer setting comment.

[Chris Griggs]

Chris,

Trigger lock smigger lock.
Don't worry. You can even have locking variable speed if you have a variable speed drill.

Thanks Winton. Me likey! I'm familiar with toe straps and may even have a spare one somewhere for my fixed gear. Thanks!

[Erik Manchester]

Adam, there is a good article by Bob Smalser on rehabbing old socket chisels using hand carved handles http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/bSmalser/art/rehChisel/rehChisel1.asp

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I made a chisel handle without a lathe for a mortise chisel I picked up.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?191046-A-chisel-handle

I link in that thread to a couple of blog posts (from Brian at Galoototron and Steve at The Literary Workshop) with some nice walkthroughs.

I'll have to grab the camera and take a photo of the finished handle if I get a chance - it's not perfect, but I didn't put a lot of work into finishing a handle for a chisel I don't use that much.

Have you got other chisels with matching handles? Could you just use one handle for more than one chisel?

[Ryan Baker]

I have a standard procedure for making round and curved things from square and boring things. It's pretty simple, actually. First knock off the corners...now you have 8 flats. Knock off the remaining corners....now you have 16 flats. Keep going another 1 or two times and you have your basic shape. From the rough shape, it's pretty trivial to finish it off with rasps, files and sandpaper. What you don't want to do, IMHO, is start right off trying to make a round shape. Dollars to donuts you'll end up with some lopsided looking thing and it will drive you to drink trying to figure out exactly what to take off where to make it reasonable again.

Very wise words, John.